Topic: I am a thief

This is not a new topic. I found references going back several years here at the Asylum...but I thought this one was kind of worthy of new discussion. Am I a thief because I use adblock? I do use it, and I will continue to do so. I will also surf through commercials on TV and in the car. It is a webmaster's right to block me, but it is my right to go elsewhere for content if that happens.

I particularly like this comparison.

quote:

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People have always rationalized their vises, even Hitler did it. It still doesn't make it right.
People who use adblocker are thiefs.

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https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/discussions/comments.php?DiscussionID=3060

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(Edited by SleepingWolf on 12-22-2007 00:20)

(Edited by SleepingWolf on 12-22-2007 00:21)

I bet that guy says "elfs," too.

I use adblock.

The thing with Adblock is, that I can configure it to allow those things that I may want to see through, and filter out those that I know I do not wish to see (like really annoying adds, for example).

It is not stealing, not at all.

Thus, I agree with this

quote:

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Adblock exists because of irresponsible webmasters who?ve allowed inappropriate, distracting, bandwidth-intensive advertisements from choked servers to load up in their pages.

The internet isn?t remotely similar to television. The internet is and will always be about sharing information freely and openly, so please stop complaining about those of us who sometimes want to cruise the net without the marketing and commercialization. Not buying into something doesn?t make a person a thief. I don?t consider a visitor to any of my web sites who doesn?t click an ad as a thief any more than I consider uploading an unwanted ad or cookie as thieving my bandwidth and my time.

If you leave your site open for viewing by anyone, then making money with advertisements on-line is a bonus, not a right. You have no more right to display advertising than people that have the right to block it. It's not a morality issue...it's the internet.

There is no need to be overly concerned. If your site?s ads aren?t intrusive and are appropriate, people won't block them because they won't need to. If your site's content is valuable and popular, you can find other more creative ways to advertise on-line or charge a subscription for it. If Honest Web Master has a means of "blocking the blockers" from viewing content, then there shouldn't be any complaints; Honest Web Master won't use up bandwidth and we'll cruise somewhere else.

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If the idiot wants to direct me to another page, fine. I do not have to visit his website, either. And another potential visitor gone. Obviously, that individual does not have an inkling about how the internet works. One tries to keep visitors, not chase them off.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

Turns out the guy is not a troll - he's a certified right wing crackpot.
Read his views on why "fourth graders are lied to about evolution"

http://jacklewis.net/weblog/about.htm

He actually went as far as purchasing these domains too:
http://blogadswap.com/
http://whyfirefoxisblocked.com

too funny

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I use adblock and I don't think it's stealing at all. There are so many things developing and morphing as the internet grows that I don't think anyone can make this a "morality" issue. That's not to say there aren't moral concerns on the internet, far from it, but this issue for me falls under the topic of "get over it and move on!".

There is an interesting recollection I had about this. I remember a discussion several years ago about whether it was moral to visit a retail store and take much of a salesperson's time in researching a product knowing full well you're not going to buy anything there. The point was made that was immoral and I actually agree. So it is important to keep an eye out for problems like that, I just don't think this one applies.

. . . : : . . Innervating Your Eyes & Mind : . . .

quote:

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Read his views on why "fourth graders are lied to about evolution"

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I would but, thank god, I'm using Firefox.

I don't use adblock, and I don't ever click on ads - most websites I visit that have ads are only things people have linked to me, not sites I visit regularly.

Really they're just wasting their own bandwidth, as far as my usage is concerned.

It's not the ads that I object to..it's the pop-ups and worse of all the pop-unders.
In other words, leave the ads and I'll choose to click or not, but don't make me shut windows down, particularly ones that say my computer has been compromised with trojans and malware, click here to be free of them.

Nature & Travel Photography
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I installed adblock after having been to a few sites that had flash adds that slowed down my processing significantly. It really upset me that a page would throw that many ads all at once.

. . . : : . . Innervating Your Eyes & Mind : . . .

I don't use adblocker... and I don't click ads... I just pointedly ignore them. Does this make me an accessory or a ring leader?

Seriously though... are they now paying webmasters to just 'load' ads and not have people actually click through them? I remember when it used to be a $ per click sort of thing where the webmaster could actually support a product or not. I, personally, wouldn't have ads on my site for anything I didn't support. Just my two bits... but maybe it isn't the browsers integrity we should be discussing.

GD